The weather forecast was fairly depressing but this is the only gap in my diary this month. I planned to start in the Howgills and was able to get a lift from Steve and Adrian in Adrian's car on their way to work. They dropped me off at the M6 junction 37 and the A674 road. I had about 40mins to wait for the bus which as last time was almost empty. There was only one other person on it and he got off in Sedbergh.

The bus ride to Cautley

The Cross Keys from the climb of Yarlside

I stayed till the Cross Keys at Cautley and got off at 9:16am. It was overcast and cold and I wondered how long it would be before the winds, storms, pestilence and plague would arrive that the weather people had predicted. I'd planned to camp on the summit of Yarlside but as it was totally exposed I decided to try and find somewhere with a bit of shelter. I knew there was water available not far from the summit so decided to look for a camp near there. I was using a new GPS for the first time as my old one, a Garmin eTrex venture, has started giving some problems after more than 3 years service. I've replaces it with the eTrex Legend, a model up in specification. The irony is that I bought it for half as much as I paid for the old one. I crossed the river Rawthey by the narrow wooden footbridge and followed the path for a very short distance. There is no path up Yarlside from this side so I just headed straight up the fell to Ben End.

The last time I was in the area I noticed a few horses on the fell. I assumed they were wild but was told later they were locally owned. As I climbed I noticed a few more coming round the mountain. These were obviously not wild as they had body blankets, I don't know the correct term, over them. I climbed higher and nearer to the cloud. The temperature was around 5degC but warmed a little later. Before the final summit of Yarlside is a flat area and nearby is a spring. I looked down to see a flat shelf and small stream. I walked down to it and decided this is where I would pitch my tent. It had water and a bit of shelter. I was high enough, 577m, to get a signal for my mobile. I was able to get all the tent pegs securely in ready for the pending storm.

Wall and fence on Yarlside